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Pythagorean Self-Awareness Intervention Promoted Healthy Dietary Patterns, Controlled Body Mass Index, and Reduced Self-Reported Stress Levels of Primary School Children: Α One-Arm Pilot Study

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GeNeDis 2022 (GeNeDis 2022)

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1425))

Abstract

Stress is common in childhood and an important factor that affects behavior later in adulthood. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the Pythagorean Self-Awareness Intervention (PSAI), a holistic “cognitive reconstruction” technique to assess primary school children’s stress levels, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and body mass index. Secondary outcome measures included relations with peers, sleep, and hair cortisol concentrations. This one-arm pilot study took place in a primary school, from February to June 2019. Participants were 32 pupils attending the second grade of primary school who received the 8-week PSAI to adopt healthy behaviors and lifestyle. Self-report measures were applied for the evaluation of various variables at the beginning and the end of the eight-week intervention. There were statistically significant reductions in stress levels (p = 0.00), nightmares’ frequency (p = 0.00), body mass index (p = 0.03), and bully scale (p = 0.00), and improvement in Mediterranean diet quality (p = 0.00). Hair cortisol concentrations increased (p = 0.02). The social scale significantly increased. Bedtime remained the same after the intervention. This pilot trial showed that the PSAI promoted healthy dietary patterns, controlled children’s body mass index, and reduced their self-reported stress levels. Further research on the implementation of this holistic program on children is suggested, in well-powered randomized controlled trials.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all students for participating in the study, as well as the headmaster, Mrs. Bassia Athena Spyridoula, and the teachers Mrs. Petropoulou Petroula and Mrs. Argyri Eleni of the 4th Primary School of Chalandri, Municipality of Attica, Greece.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Marilena Panagiotou, Ioanna Maria Velegraki, Orsalia Gerakini, Maria Charalampopoulou, Maya Louvardi, Xanthi Tigani & Christina Darviri

  2. Center for Adolescent Medicine and UNESCO Chair in Adolescent Health Care, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Flora Bacopoulou

  3. First Department of Pediatrics, Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Aimilia Mantzou

  4. Laboratory of Genetics, Department of Biotechnology, School of Applied Biology and Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Dimitrios Vlachakis

  5. First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Christina Kanaka-Gantenbein

  6. University Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health & Precision Medicine, and UNESCO Chair in Adolescent Health Care, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece

    George P. Chrousos

Authors
  1. Marilena Panagiotou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Flora Bacopoulou .

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  1. Department of Informatics, Ionian University, Corfu, Greece

    Panagiotis Vlamos

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Panagiotou, M. et al. (2023). Pythagorean Self-Awareness Intervention Promoted Healthy Dietary Patterns, Controlled Body Mass Index, and Reduced Self-Reported Stress Levels of Primary School Children: Α One-Arm Pilot Study. In: Vlamos, P. (eds) GeNeDis 2022. GeNeDis 2022. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1425. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31986-0_2

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